Customer Reviews

The Art of Knitting: Stitches * Colors * Fashion

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I was a little skeptical when I first heard about this dvd, mainly because of a flashback to when I was just learning to knit about a year ago. I rented a video on knitting that made watching paint dry sound like an exciting alternative. The Art of Knitting dvd is surprising in that it's informative without being condescending or dull. They make techniques that are so difficult to translate in print comprehensible in a way that only the visual arts can. During this past year, I've amassed an obscene amount of knitting books (I love them all) but I sometimes come away even more confused after looking something up because I can see the words and technically I understand the words BUT I have absolutely no idea what they're talking about. I don't know about you, but the directions for M1 for instance never made any sense to me until I saw it done. Besides the basics, some of the topics covered are; understanding gauge, ripping, increasing/decreasing, weaving in ends, changing colors and how to pick up dropped stitches.

You get a quick glimpse into the different aspects of knitting, from the communities and events to the process of making yarn from wool. They even thought to tie in various stretches for knitters and tips on how to prevent injuries. All this conveyed by a very natural group of professionals and an engaging newbie.

The only reasons I gave this a 4 star rather than a 5 star rating was because I wish they had adjusted for sharpness when they zoomed in for a few of the closeups on technique. That and the sound quality wasn't always great. Hopefully they will take care of these issues with the subsequent dvds (which incidentally I plan on buying). All in all it is a wonderful teaching tool.

I bought this video because I do know how to knit, but I mostly crochet. The information in this video was very good for a novice and I also liked the Zen of Knitting and other extras. As an Intermediate knitter, I would have liked to seen more along the lines of different stitches and techniques, but overall a good video. The reason for 4 stars....the sound in the beginning is not very good. I think that if the music was deleted while the teacher was teaching, it would be a bit better. Worth the $20 overall...

Words cannot begin to express how much I love this DVD....but I'll write a few!!
I took knitting lessons and couldn't wait to start making hats and scarves. I kept making mistakes and couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong. I couldn't keep taking lessons or going back to the store for help, so I decided to put "knit DVD" into Google and my problem was solved.
I found www.theartofknitting.com and ordered The Art of Knitting. Lucky for me, they had a special and I got a free tote bag, too!
The lessons on the DVD are so clear and easy to understand and I've watched them over and over, so I could see exactly how the stitches are made. It's great being able to do that in slow motion, too.
The DVD is easy to navigate and has so much stuff on it, I still haven't seen everything. I'm still groovin' on the great demonstrations.
I've still got a lot to learn, but I am on my way, thanks to this wonderful and amazing DVD!

My Grandmother taught me to knit, but I have to tell you, this DVD is the next best thing. There is so much information and lessons packed into this hours long (it says 3 1/2 hours) DVD that it took me a full week to review all of the segments.

This DVD is fantastic! The beginner section was a refresher for me as I hadn't knitted since I was 12 years old with my Grandmother. In the Choose Your Style section I finally mastered the Continental knitting style, which now allows me to knit much quicker. One of the best lessons for me was in the Intermediate section where I learned the skills to knit my first sweater.

The Art Of Knitting is inspiring. I'm a backup singer and on the road a lot. I just pop this DVD in my laptop at nights, pick up my needles and it relaxes me after a show. I knit little things for my daughter. It's far more personal than buying her some cheap junk in an airport, when I'm away from her. Now my little girl wants to knit and I look forward to doing this with her. She is 7 years old and can easily run a DVD remote.

Besides the lessons, the DVD has sections on yarns, color theory, knitting as a meditation, knitting events, a resource guide (which helps me find cute yarn stores while I'm traveling), a stitch library and music-to-knit-by (which I LOVE!).

This was the best 20 bucks I've spent in a long time. It's a lot more than a DVD, it's a way to fill your life with creative activity while, at the same time making something special for the people in your life.

There's so much great stuff in this DVD. If you are a beginning knitter, this is like having a private instructor in your living room; you can learn at your own pace. If you are intermediate, you can sharpen your skills with techniques that will tempt you to try other fun projects, beyond scarves. And advanced/all knitters, there's an interesting color theory section, a fit-to-knit workshop to keep your muscles in condition, a demo on wire knitting, a very informative "fiber care" lesson, lot's of fashion inspiration and fun stuff to watch (the alpaca sheering is SO cute!). I love how easy it is to get to whatever subject you're looking for, with the interactive INDEX. Oh - and the knit circles in CA and NY are a stitch!
The perfect gift for wanna-be-to-expert knitters.

I love this DVD!!

After not knitting for many years, I needed to relearn everything I'd forgotten and this DVD came along at the right time.

The knitting demos are great. I love how it easy it is to rewatch the segments and even do them in slow-motion, so you can really watch how the stitches are formed.
The A-Z index on the DVD is one of the best features on it. You can find any section you need in seconds. Beats all the fast-forwarding and rewinding you'd have to do with a tape. For example, I was working on a project that called for a cast-on increase and I never actually did that before. I went to "C" on the index, found "cast-on increase" clicked and there was my segment. It took faster to do it, than it did to just write it here! And for anyone who was ever confused as to how to fix a dropped stitch, the segment doing that saved me lots of frogging (that's a term for ripping out-for any non-knitters reading this).

This DVD is not just demos. There's over three hours of stuff on it. I especially liked the knitting circles and seeing how different the East and West Coast knitters are. It was so cute and funny! The chiropractor segment with exercises to prevent injuries while knitting is great for someone with bad posture like me. I also liked the wire knitting segment with Nancie Wiseman and plan to make the bracelet she shows.
The pattern for the bracelet along with a hat and bikini pattern are included on a printed leaflet with the DVD. I already made several hats for my DH with the pattern, even one with stripes, which I learned how to do with the DVD.

There is nothing else like this out there right now. I am a researcher, so I know!
It's a great price for so much information and entertainment. I recommend it highly!!

I purchased this DVD because I thought I might see what I already knew from a different angle. I had no idea how packed with information and ideas "Art of Knitting" is.

The first five minutes paid for the effort. And I had no idea that it would go on for hours and hours. You need to have plenty of coffee ready and forget about doing any thing else the day you start to watch this DVD.

It is organized like an animated magazine with articles and sub-articles to those. Each is well titled and gives further reading or viewing references. Like a magazine not everyone will be interested in every section; yet you can always fine something and much is serendipity.

Not everything is physically knitting yet they go trough all types of knitting forms. There is a quick section on the difference in holding thread as in American vs. Continental. If you ever watch any Agatha Christy miss Marple movies with Joan Hickson then you get a good dose of Continental or European knitting methods.

Everyone knows that the process of knitting is just mechanical; you can do most while watching TV or holding a conversation. But what to knit, what looks good, and what works well as clothing, accessories or art is an other matter. We even get a crash course in color psychology.

If I covered everything on this DVD it would take a book. And this is just one of a series.

It is safe to say this is one of the best investments you could make.

The Complete Beginner's Guide to Knitting

I'm sad to say that this DVD was a disappointment. I appreciate the efforts the girls on the dvd made, but it just didn't get there. The camera angles were poor and I couldn't see what the teacher was doing.

A friend gave me this dvd as a gift because I've been wanting to learn how to knit for a long time. There is so much on this dvd that I don't need, so much clutter that it was confusing just to navigate it. I feel bad for the people who made it, but I have to let other potential buyers know what a low quality product I think they're getting.

Sorry, but I don't recomment this dvd....

I very much like the idea behind the 4-DVD collection- can't wait to have the fourth, on knitting with kids! First DVD had so many chapters it was impossible for me to watch them all in one night...Lots of addresses and websites to check ...Many thanks for the tips on posture and common mistakes to avoid while knitting- will try to follow the advice. My only complaint(but I am not the first here) regards sound, especially in some parts of the DVD.This can be improved. Among my favourites are the chapter on shearing alpacas and the one on novelty yarns.I am not sure whether one can really learn the basics from a DVD ,but it seems possible these days...

There is so much information on this DVD, you'll enjoy every minute. I understand there are more to come and I can't wait for the next one. This DVD not only covers knitting, but other valuable information about yarn and guilds and other information that I found absolutely invaluable and fun to listen to while I knit.